Refrigerator.



F. WESTERBEOK.

, REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 19'. 1910.

Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

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REFRIGERA'IQR.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 19. 1910.

979,814, I Patented Dec. 27, 1910.

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To all whom it may concern:

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioEi.

FREDERICK WES TERBECK, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

REFRIGERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Be it known that I, FREDERICK WESTER- BEoK, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of St. Louis'and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to a refrigerator for holding bottles in order that their contents may be cooled and maintained in a cooled condition pending the consumption of such contents; and it has for its dbject the production of a refrigerator of this description so constructed as to provide for the bottles being automatically delivered to a point at which they may be extracted singly from the refrigerator without the necessity of opening the door of the refrigerator with an objectionable loss of low temperature in the refrigerator incident to the escape o cooled air and the inrush of warmer air.

- Figure I is a view partly in end elevation, and partly in vertical cross section of my refrigerator the refrigerator door being partly broken away to afford a view of the interior of the refrigerator. Fig. IIis. in part a side elevation, and in part a vertical longitudinal section, a portion of the side wall being broken out. Fig. III is a horizontal section taken on irregular line III-III, Fig. II.

In the accompanying drawings: 1 designates the side walls, 2 the bottom, and 3 the top of thecasing of my refri erator. The refrigerator, as shown in the rawings, has a doorway at each of its ends that is normally closed by a door 4, and is subdivided interiorly into two storage compartments A, the subdivision being produced by the presence of a double partition extending transversely of the refrigerator and comprising partition walls 7 and8, spaced apart from each other.

9 designates an ice pan suitably supported above the storage chambers A and in which is a drain outlet 10 surmounted by a platform 11 on which ice may be laced.

12 is a drip pan beneath t e ice pan and into which the water from the melting ice falls as it passes throu h the drain outlet of the ice pan to be con ucted from the drip pan through a drain pipe 13, that leads to the exterior of the refrigerator.

In each door 4 is a withdrawal aperture 5 located at the bottomand near one of the side edges of the door, this opening being provided to permit the withdrawal of bottles from the refrigerator without the necessity of opening the door in which the aperture is located. Each withdrawal aperture 5 is normally closed by a stopper 6 that may be readily and quickly withdrawn from and replaced in the aperture.

14 designates runway rails extendingtransversely of the refrigerator in the storage compartments, and'located at the rear of such compartments. These runway rails are shorter than the width of the storage compartment in which they are present so that they extend from one side of the compartinent to'a point distant from the other side of the com artment, and they are inclined downwar ly from their ends that terminate at sides of the storage compartments.

their highest ends are connected to side walls of the refrigerator casing, while their lower ends extend rearwardly to, and are attached to, the adjacent partition wall." Furthermore,-the runway rails 14 are arra ed alternately so that while one rail exten s from one side of the storage compartment to a point remote from the other side, the next rail, which extends downwardly and in an opposite direction from the second side of the'stora e compartment,'terminates at a distance rom the first mentioned side of such compartment, thereby providing for a bottle resting on an upper rail traveling downwardly thereon until it reaches the lower end of the rail, then descending through the space between the lower end of this rail and the opposing side of the re- Patented Dec.27,1910.

frigerator onto-the next lowermost rail to I descend thereon in a direction of travel the reverse of its travel on the upper rail until it descends therefrom at the side of the storage chamber at which it started, to a ain reverse its travel on the next succee ing" way rails are, however, intended to support the necks of bottles, and they are, therefore, elevated slightly above the planes occupied by the mating runway rails 14 to provide for the bottles being upheld in horizontal positions while they are descending upon the runway rails. The forward runway rails extend across the compartments in substantially the same manner as the rear rails; and to permit of the descent of the necks of the bottles from the lower end of each rail onto the next lowermost rail, the forward rails extend forwardly at 16 to furnish gaps between such lower ends and the opposing sides of the refrigerator casing, which gaps are of less width than those between the lower ends of the rear rails and the opposing sides of the casing, and inasmuch as the lower ends of the forward rails may not be connected to the adjacent door/1 and permit drawal aperture 5 in the door closing the compartment, ready to be withdrawn from the refrigerator upon the removal of the stopper 6. It should be stated that the lowermost runways, which have, for clearness, been designated 14 and 15', extend continuously across the storage chamber, as

seen in Fig. I and in the compartment at the right-hand end of Fig. III. Upon the withdrawal of a bottle I through the withdrawal aperture 5, there is downward movement of the remaining bottles upon the runway rails, so that the bottle next succeeding that which was-withdrawn moves into place opposite the withdrawal aperture. This action of the bottles continues as long as there are bottles in the storage compartment.

I have shown my refrigerator as containing two storage compartments A, but it is obvious that the refrigerator may be made with a single compartment inasmuch as the two compartments are provided merely for the purpose of increasing the capacity of the refrigerator. It is furthermore obvious that while I have shown the refrigerator so constructed as to permit of the withdrawal of the bottles through the withdrawal aperture 5 in the door of the refrigerator, the

runway rails might be so disposed in the storage chamber as to cause the bottles to be presented toward a withdrawal aperture in the side of the refrigerator, and through which the bottles could be. withdrawn as readily as in the instance of arranging the parts in the manner shown in the drawings.

I claim:

1. In a bottle storage refrigerator, a hOusing containing a storage chamber, a plurality of rear runways in said storage cham- 'ber arranged, one above another, each alternate runway being inclined downwardly in a direction the reverse of the. surmounting runway, the lower ends of the runways being separated from the housing walls opposing such lower ends to provide spaces through which bottlesmay descend to the next lowermost runways and forward runways elevated above the rear runways.

2. In a bottle storage refrigerator, a housing containing a storage chamber, a plus rality of rear runways in said storage chamber arranged one above another, each alternate runway being inclined downwardly in a direction the reverse of the surmounting runway, the lower' ends of the runways .being separated from the housing walls opposing such lower ends to provide spaces through which bottles may descend to thenext lowermost runways; said housing being provided with an aperture through which the bottles may be withdrawn when.

they have "descended on said runways and forward runways elevated above the rear runways. Y

3. In a bottle storage refrigerator, a casing containing a storage chamber and'having a doorway' therein, a door closing sa d doorway, a plurality of rear runways in said storage chamber arranged one above another, each alternate runway being incllned downwardly in a direction the reverse of the surmounting runway, the lower ends of the runways being separated from the cats ing walls opposing such lower ends to provide spaces through which bottles may descend to the next lowermost runways, the

said door being provided with an aperture at the lower end of the lowermost of said runways, and a stopper by which said aper- 1 ture is normally closed andforward runways elevated above the rear runways.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed mysignature, th1s 16th day of May, 

